At 10:25 PM 5/13/01 -0700, Henry Jackson wrote:
I have a
possibility to get a Vanagon camper diesel that has been sitting in my
friend's driveway for 5 years or so and I am looking for advice on how to
start it up after such a long period of inactivity. Changing the
oil is a no brainer, but getting the oil circulating with no load on the
engine to minimize metal damage is not immediately available to me.
If it were a gas motor I'd pull the plugs and crank the motor until I got
pressure before a real startup, but how can I do the equivalent in a
diesel?
Pull the wire the electric solenoid on the injection pump. This is
the wire that actually shuts the thing off. When pulled, it will
think its shut off, then you can spin it over a few times. There
may be another way, but this is all I can think of this early on the east
coast.
Sidenote: Some guys I know with Cummins and Powerstroke diesels
install a button in the dash area to hold the pump inactive on starting
until they visually see oil pressure indicated, then they let the fuel go
to it and bust off. Supposed to save wear and tear --
What concerns me is rust in the cylinders after the oil has drained down
or evaporated from the upper surfaces, as well acidified
throughout. Might be good to dump some Marvel Mys Oil in there on
initial starting attempts to circulate and let it try to work on some of
that gunk. The stuff is amazing for cleaning out engines. If
you're not familiar with its properties, see archives or pmail
further. Besides, having the gunk in there thinned down to where it
will flow will be key in reducing metal damage. I would probably
dump half a bottle or more in there on initial bust off along with new
oil, because much of the sediments simply won't come out at first.
If you get it running, then you can drain it out and flush it before
taking it on a regular run. Good luck.
Be SURE to check condition of the timing belt before attempting to
start. Very likely going to have change now. Are you familiar
with diesels?
hk